Saint Mary's beacon. [volume] (Leonard Town, Md.) 1867-1983, 1887-03-17

at a dollar apiece were. till before
night every ablsbodied boy in Evans.
vile knew about the cast. and was
making arrangements to corral from
one to dozen on Nsw Years eve.
The eventnl---for Plunket-nieht
came. The oil man vent to bed early,
and long about Q oelock was sound
asleep.
Suddenly there waa q ring at the
door bell.
That's the bel. Plnaket. said his
wife, nudgiug him = the ribs.
Wall, ! don't u growlsd Plum
ket, let the hired btl 90 down.
She isn't here. She's gone to a
ball on Babylon Hif-'
Where's Erastus?'
'Ras has gone to maskiraid at
Leiderkrans' Hall. There hain't a
soul in the house but we 'uns, and
you'll hev to 60.
So the old man Went grumblingly
down and flung oper the door, and
there stood small boy with water.
works hose and large yellow cat with
one eye, under his arm
Here's your cat. Mr. Plumkins, said
he. He amt very pretty, and he's
only got one eve, but you bet chs
large and healthy, and that's what
your card in the August said you
wanted
i don't want no cat. I never said
| wanted one. Git out
Yes yer did too blubbered the boy.
4 seen it in the August you gimme
my dollar
What dollar?'
That dollar you said you'd give for
cats, in the August
4 never said no sich thing, and he
slammed the door too, locked it. and
went up stairs.
The boy started out of the gate and
saw the boy Of all others that he hated,
coming along with black cat with a
rick ear and stubby tail. 1t was the
work Of a second to drop the yellow
cat, which Immediately scooted back
through the yard aud climbed on to a
grape arbor.
Did you sell yer cat, Jimmy!
Did II answered the first boy, as he
jingled knife, two keys and a second
hand dog check in his pocket, you bet
l did and got the scads.'
Boy number two rang the bell, and
Plunket came down again, but this
time he didn't ask any questions.
When he saw the cat under the boys
arm he just swore and slammed the
door and the boy in rage slammed the
cat at him and cat number two hur-
ried into the back yard to find out
what the yellow cat was bowling so
mournfully about.
This programme was kept up for an
hour till Plunket refused to appear at
all and the disappointed boys, after
throwing their cats into the yard,
threw mud all over the house and
went away.
In the back yard things were lovely.
When you bundle cats from all the diff
ferent wards in town into yard there
is going to be trouble.
The bowling became terrible and
Plunket having stood it till his pa
tience gave out grabbed his old gun
and threw up the window.
But his wife grabbed him and told
him it wouldn' t do to shoot off the gun
in the house and told him to go down
stairs if he wanted to shoot. The old
man was too angry to think about
clothes, aud rushed down and threw
open the back door. stepped out just
as his wife stuck her head out of the
window. Aud right here the climax
came.
II PluHket had only stepped on the
wooden step it would have been all
right even if his feet and legs were bare;
but he didn't; he stepped right on to
two cats. from up near the old grave
yard, who were talking together.
Now cat from that vicinity don t
stop to beg pardon when he is s;eppe d
on, and both of them just yelled aud
whirled and sank their claws clear to
the hilt in old Plunket's bare right
leg.
1t was just at this point the gun
went off and filled Mrs. Plunkets face
with bird-shot.
No one knows whether Piunket
ierked his leg nm so high that he hit